Thursday, May 31, 2012

Firefly Viewing Affected by Warm Temperatures

Due to
the unseasonably warm spring, the synchronized fireflies found in
Elkmont at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are presenting earlier
than ever recorded according to park officials. The shuttle service to
the event site is still scheduled to take place from June 2-10 for
ticketed reservation holders only. Park biologists are predicting that
there may still be some activity during the weekend of June 2nd, but the
display will be past peak and may taper off significantly well before
the following weekend. Those with reservations are being advised of the
possibility that the display will not be as good as in previous years.

This
early showing has prompted the Park to close the Elkmont entrance road
to motor vehicles and pedestrian use every evening from Wednesday, May
30-Sunday, June 10. Only registered campers staying at the Elkmont
Campground will be allowed to access the road.

The Park
had set aside 25 parking passes aside to make available the day before
the event though www.recreation.gov. These passes may be withdrawn
depending on the activity of the fireflies. Please visit
www.recreation.gov for current status on these passes.

The
popularity of the annual firefly event has made it necessary to close
access to the Elkmont viewing area to protect park resources and visitor
experiences. This closure requires the availability and coordination of
a large number of park staff and the shuttle service provider. The
event is generally scheduled based on the recorded timing of firefly
appearances in the past years, but Spring 2012 was uncharacteristically
warm and made it difficult to accurately predict well in advance. Due to
the logistics involved, the Park does not have the flexibility to
switch the event operations forward or backwards to match the peak
firefly activity.

For more details on the fireflies, please visit the park s website www.nps.gov/grsm and click on synchronous fireflies.